No Second Troy
WHY should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery, or that she would of late
Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,
Or hurled the little streets upon the great.
Had they but courage equal to desire?
What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this,
Being high and solitary and most stern?
Why, what could she have done, being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?
(5 votes, average: 4.6 out of 5)
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February 26th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
This poem is arranged in iambic pentameter, with an alternating rhyme scheme and consists of four rhetorical questions. The poem appears to be a eulogy to a woman that the author has had a relationship with. The woman in question has clearly had an impact on Yeats as the opening statement: “Why should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery” shows.
The 11th line: “Why, what could she have done, being what she is?” stands out not only in that it is structurally different from the rest of the poem (adding an extra syllable for emphasis), but it also ascertains that it was an unavoidable part of the woman’s character that caused him such misery. The poet appears to come to terms, and forgive the woman for the fact that she did not love him as he loved her.